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With allegations of corruption in the ANC getting a public
face in the State Capture Inquiry, one would expect an effective opposition
party to take full advantage. Instead, the DA is still recovering from a series
of PR disasters that each served to erode the values many South Africans have
come to know and trust the party for – accountability, transparency and
effective governance.

With the latest Ipsos poll giving the party 13% of the
national vote – significantly less than the 22.2% it won in the previous
national election – the question arises whether the party will be able to claw
back support in time for 2019. While some analysts reckon the 13% estimated
support is drastically understated, there can be no denial that the party has taken
some knocks.

Karabo Rajuili, advocacy coordinator at AmaBungane, says the
DA's unwillingness to understand the importance of being publicly accountable
in its decision-making could very well be its downfall.

"The manner in which they handled the Patricia de Lille
saga… I think the DA is going to count the cost of that in years to come and as
it does grow its support base, the complexities of the party grow as
well," she said during a discussion about opposition politics at the Open
Book festival in Cape Town. "Political parties fail to understand that the
public trust is not a given, and that it can only be gained through being
transparent about the internal dynamics of a party."

Janet Heard, managing editor of The Daily Maverick, agrees.

"The denialism from a party that holds accountability
and transparency as their cornerstone values has been astounding. This might
cost them votes, because if there's one thing voters hate it is
hypocrisy," she said.

"I think the DA took a lot for granted in just assuming
that they have the trust of the public who supported them. They weren't used to
being questioned by that support base and it seemed like they couldn't believe
that they were being challenged on their transparency (in dealing with the De
Lille matter)."

Political analyst Ralph Mathekga adds that the ANC is under
immense pressure in Gauteng and that now is the time the DA could really make a
dent in their support in the province. Instead, they are struggling with issues
of identity, race and management, allowing the ANC room to breathe.

There is also the matter of which individual is going to
lead the DA in Gauteng, with none of its current leaders in the province being
without problems.

"Going into this election everyone else is displaced by
Ramaphosa. There's been a big shift in opposition politics," Mathekga
said.

"The EFF makes a lot of noise but they don't believe in
opposition politics, meaning it does not believe in incremental gains as an
opposition in politics. They feel better when they align themselves with the
governing party through majoritarianism. That changes the face of the
opposition.

"The DA is the only remaining party that is not trying
to work out some form of majoritarian agreement with the governing party. But
it seems that if they come into government they're going to battle with the
same problems as the ANC."

A major problem is that the decline of the DA will have a serious
impact on opposition politics – to the detriment of society, says Mathekga.

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